Project Title

AESOP-lite: Anti-Electron Sub-Orbital Payload – Low Energy

Summary

Event Number:
A-148-M
NSF / NASA Agreement

Program Director:
Dr. Vladimir Papitashvili

ASC POC/Implementer:
John Rand / Kaija Webster / Chad Naughton

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. John M Clem
jmc@udel.edu
University of Delaware
Physics and Astronomy

Project Web Site:
https://sites.udel.edu/aesoplite/

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: McMurdo LDB Site

Description

The AESOP-Lite scientific balloon payload competed a successful flight in the 2023-24 season and landed 611 miles grid east of the South Pole Station. Due to the late-season flight and termination combined with the complicated logistics of recovery from AESOP-Lite's remote landing site, payload recovery was deferred to a subsequent season. This season's AESOP-Lite recovery operations are subcontracted through Arctic Truck without the onsite assistance of A-148-M, the NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF), or Antarctic Support Contract (ASC) personnel.

Field Season Overview

The AESOP-Lite payload is expected to fly on a 60mcf balloon during the 2023-2024 NASA Antarctic Balloon campaign. During flight preparation at the Long Duration Balloon Facility in Palestine, TX, the payload was assembled, evaluated for functionality, and calibrated. This effort included integration of CSBF's flight equipment with the payload and a final compatibility test while hanging from the launch vehicle. Final re-assembly will be performed in one of the payload assembly buildings located at the Ross Ice Shelf launch site. Flight O-ring and feed-thru gasket integrity testing will take place in an empty shipping container outside of the payload assembly building. For testing, the instrument flight shell is pressurized with Nitrogen gas to 14.7 psi over ambient over a 48-72 hour time period. The target launch window for AESOP-Lite is between late November and early January. Data vault recovery is a science requirement, and a full payload recovery is desired. Four team members are scheduled to deploy in early November. Three team members will remain in McMurdo until late-January for recovery operations if needed.

Deploying Team Members